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Mariko: At Aedan we create handcrafted and Koji-based Japanese fermented foods

iCrowdNewswire - Aug 10, 2015

Personal Story

Japanese Tradition The name Aedan ‘叡伝’ comes from two Kanji characters, ‘叡’ means wisdom, ‘伝’means hand down (as information) from generation to generation. Our founder, Mariko, creates small batch fermented products using the knowledge passed down from her Grandfather’s miso making business and mother’s home miso recipes in Japan. Using this traditional knowledge, she has adjusted and perfected her recipes to match the unique flora and environment of San Francisco. In 2011 after the devastating Tsunami struck Japan, our founder, Mariko sold her natural fermented products to friends to fundraise for Japanese victims. The popularity of Mariko’s delicious fermented foods spread quickly by word-of-mouth in Japanese mother’s and friends community. After this fundraising, Mariko started to write Aedan’s weekly newsletters to share fermented foods and her wisdom on leading a happy healthy life. In May 2012, Mariko joined the incubator kitchen program at La Cocina in San Francisco and since then has worked to develop her Aedan fermented food product line.

Business Description

At Aedan we create hand crafted, Koji based, Japanese fermented foods.This includes four types of Miso, Amazake, Shio Koji and Sagohachi pickling sauce. Also offered is Doburoku Old Style sake Kit. All products are made with Koda Farms Organic Heirloom Rice and Organic non GMO Soybeans,Barley and Chickpeas. Koji is a live food, cultured for three days in a controlled environment. This process infuses steamed rice with natural enzymes and transforms it into Koji! Koji is the key ingredient in all the basic foods of the traditional Japanese diet.

What is the purpose of this loan?

We need to buy more raw materials to make our products, Organic Rice, Soybeans, Barley, Chickpeas and salt. We also need the packaging and labels, as well as equipment for growing Koji, rolling racks with insulated covers to control temperature. There is a storage issue as well because Miso must be aged to maturity before it can be distributed to stores and customers, we need to expand our rental space allow more of the Miso to age.